It’s the beginning of September! And it’s time to talk about finances! Personal finance, not like the great big world of Finance (capital F). I do think a good place to start for anything is to write down your goals. I prefer pen and paper because I find it really gets into my brain, but whatever works.

Today I was reading the Refinery29 Budgeting Slideshow and I stumbled across their financial goal tracker. I have a less pretty, less organized version of this, but who doesn’t love a good worksheet, right? So here’s what I have:

Near Term Goals (2 months)

• Increase savings to 1000
• Have no more debt on Credit Card 1
• Buy my black dress!

I think I’m well on my way to these. I have a weekly deduction from my checking account to my savings account and I’ve calculated that I’ll have paid off all of Credit Card 1 by the end of October. Yay me!

Maybe then I can buy that black dress I’ve been eyeing forever.

Short-term Goals (Less than 2 years)

• Pay off Credit Card 2
• Save enough to go on a European vacation
• Have a second stream of income

I’ve calculated it out again and after I pay off Credit Card 1 (which has been quite a struggle), it should take another year to pay off Credit Card 2 if everything continues as it has. That means no raises and no huge emergency purchases. (Fingers crossed!) I’d like to go on a nice vacation without worrying about how much money I’m spending and I’d also like to pay for most of it in cash. And I’m also working on having a second stream of income with this blog and potentially my book. It doesn’t have to be a lot, but every little bit helps! Here’s hoping!

Mid-term Goals (2-10 years)

• Buy a house
• Own a horse
• Go on one super fancy vacation
• Max out my retirement every year

These are getting sort of out there and they seem kind of hard to imagine given my present circumstances, but a girl can dream, can’t she? .

Long-term Goals (10+ Years)

• Have a million dollars saved?

Honest 10+ years seems so far off I can’t even imagine who I’ll be or what I’ll want by then. Financial independence is a must though, so that’s what I’m aiming for. A million dollars is a lot, but dreams, right?

So there they are. The big picture. Tomorrow I’ll get into the nitty gritty of all the budgeting goodness.

Until tomorrow.

P.S. I’m not 100% sure I’m labeling these days correctly, but oh well.